The Mental Benefits of Exercise
I remember in college when I asked a professor how he was able to read two books a week, he responded, “The brain is (like) a muscle. You need to exercise it. The more you do, the more you can lift.” And so I try to live that way. Sports science and psychology have been […]
Chocolate as a Pain-Reliever: How to Use it Right
Chocolate’s been gaining major traction the last few years as a major aid in health. Contrary to what our good-parenting instincts (and Halloween guilt) might tell us, Chocolate apparently has a number of tremendous benefits as so long as you don’t go overboard (i.e., don’t have chocolate products with tons of trans fats!). What are […]
Laughter Therapy in the Fight against Depression
As mentioned in Part I, laughter produces endorphins, much like exercise. Endorphins function as painkillers, giving you the ability to push through grueling exercise sessions. They can lead to feelings of euphoria and mimic opiates. They serve the same function as drugs like codeine and morphine, reducing pain and stress. As we mentioned, they’re produced […]
Laughing: Good for the Soul?
It would be redundant to talk about laughter’s psychological power. laughter may be the best medicine indeed when feeling depressed or bored. It wakes us up. It gets us going. It gets us smiling. Now, is it a form of exercise? Exercise certainly is renown for changing our moods for the better. But will the […]
Can Ritalin Treat Depression?
Can Ritalin treat depression? It’s often a reported side-effect of Ritalin that depression is actually causedby the focus drug. But Ritalin shares a lot in common with anti-depressants like Zoloft, mainly that they both fall in the category of stimulants. It can be that sometimes someone who wants to treat ADD is also using anti-depressants. […]